| We came to Cambridge to visit friends from the dancing
world. Harvard University is in Cambridge so we spent a day at the
university. There is a self-guided walking tour which starts here at the
Wadsworth House built in 1727 for the eighth president of Harvard and is the
second oldest building in the complex. It was used as a headquarters by
General George Washington in 1775. |  |
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Next comes a series of buildings which contain the freshmen dormitories and
face onto a grassy area known as the Old Yard which dates back to the
founding of the college in 1636, 16 years after the arrival of the pilgrim
colonists at Plymouth. This is probably Hollis Hall which dates from 1763 |
| This is Johnson Gate (1890) which has been the main
entrance to the Yard since 1790. It is the first and oldest of nine major
and several minor gates. |  |
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Another freshman hall is Stoughton Hall dating from 1803. There are dents in
the paths and steps outside. Before central heating, the students used to
heat cannon balls in the fires to warm their rooms. In spring the students
would throw the 'heaters' outside. |
| Across the way is the new science block which also
houses mathematics. The building was designed by José
Luis Sert. |  |
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We tried to go inside the Memorial Hall but it was in use that day so we
only got this shot of the stained glass window through the open door. |
| This very impressive building was built in 1878 to
commemorate the 136 Harvard men who died while fighting for the Union during
the Civil War. Their names are listed inside. One wonders about the
Confederates.... There are 21 large windows made in the La Farge or
Tiffany studios and donated by various classes. The roof is similar in
decoration to those we have seen in Beaune in France. |  |
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Back to the main complex and we passed by a series of museums and other
impressive buildings. This is Burr House. |
| Moving back towards the centre, this is Loeb House.
Built in 1912 for the then president. Today it is occupied by the governors
and is often used for official dinners. |  |
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The heart of any university is its library. Harvard has several of which
this is the most imposing. It is the Widener Library built in 1914 and
houses 3.5 million volumes on over 50 miles of shelving. It is named after
Harry Elkins Widener who died on the Titanic and whose mother donated the
funds to build it. |
| At the top of the columns is a frieze of which this is
a section. It includes the arms of Caxton, the father of printing. |  |
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Back to the old Yard where we catch a glimpse of the back of the Weld
building. |
| And so to the famous statue of three lies. The
inscription says John Harvard, Founder, 1638. It is NOT John Harvard, the
founder, since nobody knows what he looked like. Daniel French who
cast the statue in 1884 used a student as a model. John Harvard was NOT the
founder, the institution is merely named after him, and the college was
founded in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. |  |
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